ADHD & ASD

Unfortunately, what often happens is that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. You as parent need to get in the driver’s seat and see that all the “horses” – school, professionals, hospitals, government agencies — move ahead in the right direction.

And that should include that everyone knows what the others have learned. So, make sure that Releases to share information are signed so everybody can communicate, receive records and communicate.


Here’s an example. An elementary school child is in foster care and receives services through Child Protective Service and County Mental Health. To clarify diagnosis the County wants the child to go to nearby Stanford Hospital (LPCH). So what needs to happen? Hopefully, CPS and County Mental Health will see that their mental health records together with the the child’s pediatric MD records and appropriate school records accompany the referral.

Another example: You as parent have concerns and go to your pediatrician. The pediatrician thinks that your child needs additional assessment and your doctor refers to a large, near by hospital complex (UC-SF, Stanford Hospital, Kaisier Permanente). Be sure that you as parent take along with you all relevant school assessments, school grades, and medical records. Get all the players on the same page. And be sure that all the players can talk to each other and exchange information.

Here’s some general ‘how to’ directions for parents of a child with ADHD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD):

Start with a physical exam by your pediatrician to make sure there are no physical reasons for child’s problems with concentration, attention, focus and organizational problems.

Next, get appropriate assessment of your child for symptoms of ADHD and Executive Functioning abilities. Some pediatricians and psychologists are trained to do appropriate assessment.

Have your MD or psychiatrist write a brief letter to child’s school.
The letter needs to state that the child is under the care of ____ doctor (MD) or psychologist (Ph.D.) and that it is the professional opinion of _____ that the child’s educational performance is significantly impacted by ____ and ____.

Take several copies of the letter from your doctor to your child’s school. Be sure that copies go to: school nurse, teacher, school psychologist & principal.

Make sure that the letter from MD or psychologist including diagnosis of ADHD or Autistic Spectrum is part of your child’s regular education CUM file. That way the school nurse can monitor as needed.

In a separate letter addressed to Special Education at your child’s school (include child’s date of birth, complete name of child, address, telephone number, email address,) ask that your child be identified as Other Health Impaired student. Ask for appropriate assessment by the school. Also ask for a 504 Plan available under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Be sure to date that letter and keep original in your file.

If you do not hear back in two weeks send another copy (with a Second Copy in red) to the school principal and child’s teacher. Typically the second letter gets a quick response.

Of course, be polite and understanding and remember that in these times of substantial change in the economy every school dollar is stretched more than it was.

Your child with ADHD and Autistic Spectrum issues needs your guidance to successfully learn at school.
Questions?

Contact Dr. Cameron Jackson DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Lots of people think that it’s wrong to cut social security. Yes, it’s wrong to cut benefits to those who paid into SSI, have retired and who rely on social security.

How to responsibly cut the federal deficit and encourage independence? Time to trim Social Security Disability benefits (SSI-D) to children and youth ages 3-21. Let’s reduce SSI-D payments to children and youth 1) assessed inaccurately or 2) who have “out grown” their diagnosis. Children change rapidly. Assessments should be accurate and up to date.

Another way to cut government deficits is to require proof of citizenship to obtain government funded services such as the regional center services. (The regional centers serve persons with low cognitive IQ abilities, requiring treatment similar to persons with low cognitive IQ, autism, seizures and cerebral palsy.)

Some people fly in from abroad or cross our border s so that their children can receive substantial government paid regional center benefits. No proof of citizenship is required to obtain regional center services which serves about 180,000 + persons in California. In the last 10 years the percentage of Hispanic clients has increased from 23 to 28 percent and whites have dropped from 51% to 42%. About 45% of those served are age 3-21.

There are too many children labeled mentally retarded by the public schools who are not slow and who can learn to read and write. The schools wrongfully label them and wrongfully keep them in more restricted placements than they need. These placements – Special Day Class (SDS) – are extremely expensive. In the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) roughly one third of the costs of special education go for SDS separate classes. Children can – and routinely are — labeled by the public schools with “mental retardation” without any assessment of their cognitive IQ and functional abilities. Their school records are reviewed by SSI-Disability and – lo and behold — children are put on SSI-Disability.

Just as unions representing government workers need to be re-certified yearly and workers given a choice whether to pay dues and/or be in a union, likewise children labeled “disabled” need to be routinely re-examined by independent assessors and parents given accurate information and more choice.

Most – but not all — parents want their children to grow up to be self sufficient individuals able to contribute to society. Unfortunately, there are some parents that prefer dependency for their child and themselves and happily seek checks in the mail.

That’s why those not on the government dole must do what we can to encourage independence and reward self sufficiency.

Take a look at the budget for your local school district. What percent goes for Special Day Class (SDC) placements? Who actually checks to see that children receiving special education services are actually re-assessed with standardized tests every three years?

Parents and taxpayers can and should require a random audit of special education records for their school district. What tests placed that child in special education and what tests show that those services need to continue? If no progress in academic skills, why not?

Why not tie teacher pay increases to showing reasonable progress in academic skills for all students — including special education students. What say you?

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

But some children’s IEPs are never “measured” again after the initial placement in a Special Day Class (SDC) placement – the most restricted educational placement. That’s wrong. It harms the child. It wastes money. The system must be more accountable.

What to do? Taxpayers speak up!

Maybe its time that parents of special education students got vouchers that followed their disabled students and could apply for any school of their choice? When parents of children of special education have more choice it’s highly likely that the quality of the education will improve.

Maybe it’s time for taxpayers to require that all California special education students are assessed very year as to progress made toward expected goals in reading, writing and arithmetic. And maybe it’s time to tie teacher pay to progress made by special education students.

It’s often the case that Special Day Class (SDC) students stay in the same class with the same teachers and aides for 2-3 years in a row. And too frequently there is no regular assessment of SDC students with standardized measures.

Some special education students in California go through 12 years of public education with minimal initial measurement of their abilities using standardized tests. Once a child is retained that child is typically passed on year after year whether or not that child has made any progress in reading and writing.

If you are a special education student in California you are about 1/2 as likely to become Proficient or higher in reading. Forty percent of California general ed students are Proficient compared to 20% of special education students. Of course, that highlights that 60% of California students are not proficient in reading.

In 2007-08 the national average per cost of student was $7,268. California paid a bit more than the national average — $8,853 — and had a ranking of 43. That means that only 7 states were lower than CA in ranking.

The County Office of Education (COE) in Santa Cruz spends $24,600 per student. COE receives 6.2 million for 252 students.

The biggest special education cost is for separate classes for students in a Special Day Class placement. One third of the special education budget went to pay for separate classes in 2006-2007.

Think of a pie cut into thirds. One-third of the special education “pie” goes to pay for separate classes for the Special Day Class (SDC) students. So why not take that 1/3 of the pie and turn it over to parents to create Alternative SDC Voucher Placements? I bet parent-run classes would require more progress in reading, writing and arithmetic.

California spends 20% more on special education student than the nation as a whole, partly due to higher wage costs. Targeted federal, state and local funds totaled $4.7 billion in 2006-07 to defray the additonal costs associated with special education.

If you are a parent with a child in a SDC placement in California it’s time that you required your school to regularly show progress based on standardized measures. Alternative methods of testing do not give you –or the taxpyers paying– the information needed to show that the public is getting value for money spent.

What say you? Time that parents with children in special education got vouchers? I think so. DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

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